Freaky Switch
by KitiKat
Summary: In this rendition of the film, the spell did not just wear off because of some words Tess said.  They hoped to switch back but never could .  Now, there is no waiting around-Anna and Tess must fully be each other.  This means a dreaded marriage for Anna.


**I wrote this story around the time Freaky Friday came out on DVD. I don't know. Watching the DVD, I could practically SEE the beginnings of this story unfolding out on the screen. This story replaces the ending. But don't forget the ending entirely . . .**

**If you are looking for comedy, DO NOT read this story.**

**If a name seems to be erroneously used, uh, it probably is. LOL, I rarely write body switching stories so switching names to bodies, etc., is not the easiest.**

**This story is not complete, but at the same time it is, because the last I touched it was probably over 5 years ago. Like many stories, I so badly want to continue it but I got a busy life and thought I'd just get this out there. Sorry about the crappy format. I'm not anti-paragraph-I promise!  
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It was a typical 6:30 p.m. 46-year-old Tess Coleman sat in her daughter's room flipping through a book for her English class.

Her daughter's English class.

Okay, so it wasn't exactly a typical near-nighttime ritual for a family. But what else were they to do when they had been stuck in a nightmare for over 14 weeks?

Tess was positive it had to end. It would end. Pei-Pei had admitted to them that perhaps the spell had a glitch, but it would be all right in the end. At least they would get free food at the restaurant for the rest of their lives. But Tess would rather puke than eat Chinese food again.

She missed her old life. She missed her clients. Ryan.

Ryan . . .

He had been patient, but he'd, according to Anna, had insisted on moving in if they were not going to get married on time, let alone if marriage postponement was going to last for over a month. That month was almost up.

The medieval words blurred before her as she thought of the sacrifices she had finally told Anna she'd have to make.

Was she sacrificing herself? Truly? Anna was not having sex with Ryan, per say. She was rather manipulating her mother's body so that she could do so. Tess told herself. Unfortunately, Tess herself would never feel those stimulations, Ryan's body on hers, nor the way his hands felt on her breasts; hips: possibly for a long time. But, they had to play out their lives. They had to move on and assume that one day, they would be able to go back to how they were. And when that day came, Tess wanted to jump right back in. She remembered why she had hated high school, herself. She focused back on Beowulf.

Maddie was text messaging her.

Anna had told Tess that she was giving up on her friendship with Maddie and Peg. It was too complicated to have fun talking to her friends and then every single time relaying the information to Tess. And Tess was all right with that. Anything to make the transition easier, after all, was welcome to both.

The instant messenger on the computer pinged, the sound that it was a message from Anna.

PUNKROCKSINGR05: Have you ever been raped? Because I feel like that . . .

Tess felt a knot in her stomach and started hurriedly typing. But Anna had spilled more out into the box.

PUNKROCKSINGR05: When I feel his hands on what is now my body, I just want to die. I hate it so much.

PUNKROCKSINGR05: I feel like he knows its me and that grosses me out even tho I know he doesn't know.

PUNKROCKSINGR05: I know I'm doing this for you, but I can't help but hate it so much…..

TESSKCOLEMAN: Honey, I . . . I was having sex with him before, I wish to God this didn't have to happen, but it does—it did. And we have to help each other out by furthering the other's life. I can't give you a good reason to give Ryan to stop having sex with him, I'm sorry, but there isn't one."

PUNKROCKSINGR05: I know you've given Jake blow jobs and you can't relate but oh no Ryan's coming. Don't come for the rest of the night…

PUNKROCKSINGR05 has signed off.

Tess closed her eyes—her daughter's eyes—and tears fell and stained her cheeks. She knew Anna was suffering. She'd known when she'd come in the room after Ryan had left for a late night meeting with a client and she'd walked in on her daughter—her body—crying her heart out, her whole body shaking. And eight words that made Tess almost start crying, as well.

"He had sex with me. Against the wall."

Tess almost felt as if she had numbed herself. She couldn't feel true emotion about anything. When Jake had ejaculated in her mouth, she didn't feel repulsion nor satisfaction that it was finally over. She had completed a duty. There was one key difference in the relationship she was in and that Anna was in.

Ryan was much older. Older, Tess knew, was scarier. Anna had never been an adult. Tess was able to put herself back in the shoes of a teenager and carry on a life not dissimilar to the ones she had seen when she was a girl. She could talk about clothes with Peg like she'd been doing it her whole life; she'd been able to take Stacy down a notch in her tenure as a teenager; she'd even been able to coerce the teachers to give her opportunities for extra credit to make up for Mr. Bates.

It wasn't like any of that was going to help Anna in forgetting what she had to do for her mother. Tess closed her eyes. The wedding was in 1 week. She would be getting married to Ryan, but would not be able to have him look in her eyes. The thought made Tess herself want to roll herself into a skinny teenaged ball and sob.

The next morning, Tess came downstairs to find Anna sitting alone at the table, her hands covering a cup of cappuccino.

"Morning," she mumbled, not making eye contact. Tess wondered why she still had to feel guilty about making love to Ryan.

"Good morning," Tess said, secretly enjoying her young, chirpy voice. "You sleep well?"

"No," Anna mumbled, her eyes transfixed on her coffee cup. "He had sex with me four times last night."

Tess turned from the coffee machine. "4?" Anna's eyes glazed up in response. "That's a lot. But, technically, he had sex with me."

"Again, Mom, I'd prefer not to talk about anything pertaining to you and sex."

Tess held up her hands. "Okay. Okay. I know how you feel about this, but what can I say? The situation is what it is."

"Yeah," Anna said. "I just . . . " she reached her hand up to wipe away falling tears and Tess dropped her mug on the counter and hugged Anna fully.

She smelled like Ryan's natural body odor, but she didn't let that faze her. Her daughter needed her.

They heard heavy footsteps, obviously those of an adult male, so Tess broke apart from Anna and began preparing the coffee once more.

"Good morning," Ryan chirped. He came over to Anna and laid his lips upon hers. And in her ear, he whispered, "You were great last night." She forced a smile at him and raised the coffee cup to her lips. "You making coffee, Anna?" Tess looked at him wistfully, but then recovered herself.

"Yep. What else would I be making?" She sassed.

"Well, you're a little young to be drinking coffee in my opinion."

"I gave her permission," Anna chimed in. "Lots of girls her age are drinking coffee. So I thought, well, why not?"

"Wow. Okay. Well, you're the parent." Soon enough, Harry came down, along with Grandpa. Anna was thankful for the distractions and she got Harry his breakfast, focusing all her attentions on him. It helped her not notice Ryan's arm around her shoulder as he drank his own coffee. And once more, Anna was able to escape to the therapist office. Where she had taken extra hours, extra patients, and even tackled a research project. It wasn't as if she had school to worry about.

1 week later, Anna was awoken by a nuzzle to her cheek; a firm caress to her mother's right breast. A foot trailing down her leg. She held back the urge to kick and scream and smiled, turning her head toward him. "Today," he said. "We make it official."

_Do what Mom would do. Do what Mom would do._ Anna craned her head for a kiss and embraced him. "Mmmm," she sighed. "Finally. Us together."

_Mom, you'd better be getting me that Ferrari you promised me after this_. Ryan's hand went from her breast to her stomach, and Anna got the feeling she knew where this was headed. She hadn't refused Ryan in weeks; she figured that today might be an appropriate day to take advantage. "Save it for the honeymoon," she purred in the deep, erotic voice she had discovered she could do. And Anna then realized that he would have pent-up sexual tension, coupled with romantic feelings for their union finally being a reality. She would be in the room with Ryan for God knew how long. As long as she didn't have to have sex with him this morning.

Ryan hoisted himself out of the bed. "Come in the shower with me?" Anna's grimace was at the brink of coming out, but she smiled, not being able to come up with an excuse to refuse, other than she thought he was disgusting.

"Sure. I'll be right there." When he disappeared into the bathroom, bare butt and all, she turned around to bury her face into the pillow, and pounded her fist into the mattress. Ryan was not a bad guy, no, but she did not want him looking into her eyes, though they were not exactly her eyes, and telling her that he would love her for all eternity. Anna finally got up the strength to get out of bed and make her way into the shower. And once again she plastered on a sexy smile and stepped into the shower, wrapping her arms around his neck, the old feeling of nausea naturally taking over as his hands placed themselves on what were now her breasts. Which was then replaced by sadness, for she could only smile and gustily return his advances of affection.

His lips laid on her moist neck in a cheeky pucker and suckled at the skin that she now felt was as much her own as the skin she had left behind. She wanted to detach herself, but that was difficult when Ryan kept on asking questions he expected her to answer, but knew she already knew the answers to.

"Do you like this?" He murmured into her neck crevice. Anna affirmed that with an "mmhmm." She felt invaded. All Ryan wanted to do, so it seemed to Anna, when they were alone was touch her; caress her. It never let up for her and Anna sometimes wondered if she would eventually end up needing an insane asylum, gone mad for only wanting to adhere to the needs of her beloved mother. Her mom had been doubtful when she had told her how much Ryan was just adoring "her".

"Maybe you think he's being overly affectionate towards, well, me, because you don't like it much when he touches you. I can't imagine that Ryan would actually amp up the romance factor." She had said. But at that point, Anna had started laughing that her mom had said "amp up" and forgot about her problems with Ryan.

"You wanna take off that . . . robe . . . Tess?" Ryan was now muttering close to her ear, his hands not waiting for an answer. His leg coming between hers.

"We just had sex," Anna said, feeling as if she might as well be speaking with black tar in her mouth. Her own words strangled her and his hands were slimy tentacles, even though he was not exactly forcing "her" to succumb to his advances.

"So?" Oh, God. Her mother would love this.

She found it easy to turn around to face Ryan. "So, we wait until the honeymoon!" She drummed her fingers on his chest for emphasis. "And then, you can ravish me however you want."

"But I want you to feel me inside you now. To know how much I love you." Anna had to close her eyes then. She hated how it felt like Ryan was talking right to her, though she knew at the same time he was talking to her mother.

"I know." Anna said, staring straight in his eyes. "I know. But . . . honey . . . I have a wedding I have to prepare for and all my friends are going to want to see me. Friends first, husband later." She tepidly kissed his cheek and in return he hugged her. Anna felt like the bedroom was the world closing in on her, while on the outside everyone else was having fun; a party in the stratosphere.

When she was finally able to get away from Ryan, she was whisked away to aghast friends of her mother and flapping hands doing her makeup, her hair, and even her teeth. Anna was further made to feel bad when she heard her mother's friends shriek and yell and plaster her with statements at how long she's waited for this; how long she had wanted this. Anna felt like she had taken this away from her mother. If only she had gotten along with her better, then Pei-Pei's mother . . .

No. This was not her fault. It was no one's fault. Everyone had the best intentions. Her mom told her on a regular basis to not blame herself; not blame anyone. Anna tended to agree with her. What could placing blame do, really? In this case, anyway. As she was given a facial, taking the time to close her eyes and be "zen" while the ladies went to check on the last-minute wedding preparations, she tried out another attempt at selfless love. Anything Anna could muster as a possible sign of selfless love, she tried. She prayed hard, and fervently wished that her mother could be here, in her own body, getting ready for her wedding, instead of having to study for exams. Wished that her mother could see the excitement of her friends, instead of coming in every few minutes to witness it and just smile while pushing back tears.

Anna wished and whispered in blurred tones for her mother's happiness, inhaled, and opened her eyes, halfway hoping that she was back in her room, with her healed belly button and Aerosmith posters.

Unfortunately not. Anna instead squinted in the bright sunlight and let out a groan.

"You look like you're getting all pretty." Tess walked in the room. Anna lifted her hand and waved.

"It's still so weird to talk to my voice," Anna remarked.

"How's it feel to be getting married?" Tess waited for Anna to answer. She seemed to be contemplating the best way to respond. Either way, Tess would be hurt.

"I don't want to get married at 15. But I will. I am."

"Maybe," Tess offered, "something will happen and I personally will get to marry Ryan."

"Maybe just think selfless thoughts," Anna said. "We both do and we'll change back."

"Yeah." Tess leaned against the door. "My friends are doing a good job."

"They are doing a number on me!" Anna exclaimed. "I'll be plastic from head to toe."

"Welcome to the world of married adulthood," replied Tess. "You'll be able to change into that ensemble for the after-party soon enough."

Silence crowded the wedding accessory-clad room.

"You want me to tape the honeymoon for you?" Anna asked. "I can have it have no sound. You know, so you can pretend . . . you felt it."

"It still wouldn't be the same," Tess said, her voice now less cheerful. "But take pictures. I might like looking at those." She cleared her throat. "We all have something taken away. If we want this spell taken off, we can't just feel sorry for ourselves. We have to take knowledge in that each of us is suffering." After another silence she added, "Thank God I caught onto how you talk or Jake would still be hitting on you."

"That would be a pity," Anna said. Tess wasn't sure if she was sarcastic or mournful. "He'd be pulling me under tables at the wedding."

More thoughtful silence between them.

"If I would have played at your wedding," Anna said. "I would have rocked the house."

Ever-hopeful Tess smiled. "You still might."

"If I have hope, I'll be let down. That's how my life works," Anna said.

"But you're living my life."

"I'm still me." A door slammed downstairs. "You better get back Mom."

"Back to text messaging and government," Tess said. The excitement didn't filter through and she exited the room and hallway just before the ladies began bounding the stairs. The good part of the wedding was that Tess could parent Harry again without him questioning why she was being so nice. He had gotten used to the weird behaviors that his mom and sister still sometimes exhibited. Athough Anna had embraced adulthood and had adopted mannerisms appropriately and Tess had started taking guitar lessons and listening to conversations to be able to play an extremely convincing Anna to those that knew her.

In Anna's room, the door closed to muffle the chatters of women enshrouded in wedded bliss, Tess bent down to pick up a stuffed animal and tearfully threw it against the wall.

"Damn it!" She seethed, blinking stinging tears that now only came to her when the ramifications of the body switching reared themselves blaringly. She sometimes wondered if she was doing the right thing, telling Anna to marry Ryan in her body, but what else could they do, give up on their lives? Tess knew full well that giving something or somebody up was not easily rectifiable. She heard the chatter of the ladies and heard her voice talking to them, sounding excited. It was like watching a video of her doing something that she would never experience.

Selfless love . . . although the spell had a glitch, she was still hell-bent on the possibility that perhaps the spell was not flawed, but that she and Anna had yet to find a happy way of expressing selfless love to each other. She knew that when Anna was cooped up in her office, or in the library, she was researching psychology and how it related to love and all it entailed, and the problems of giving love back.

Useless, she now thought, the sound of "her" laughter coming back to her. She pulled herself together and went into Harry's room to help him with his weekend homework and ultimately prepare for the wedding.

The church's holy sanctuary was like a prison to Anna.

In some way to her, the hollow, voiceless, endless echo that faded into a sightless oblivion seemed to take her with it. Here, she would be getting married. And then having sex. All night, all day, with a man that disgusted her. The thought could not help but circulate through her mind; a leering repulsive anxiety. Even worse, no one would believe her if she said anything about her thoughts; it would be her mother speaking.

She was grateful for the ladies; her mother's friends. When she got back in her own body, she'd be sure to be kinder to them rather than ignore them or purposely hold band practices. Their contagious excitement reminded her of Peg and Maddie when their band achieved an award or got a long-awaited gig they had tried to get for months.

Anna was ushered into a dressing room and she knew she had a job to do.

She had to get her mom hitched. The wedding was in 2 hours; she didn't know how they would occupy the time; getting into the dress and touching up the makeup and hair would not take that long.

Tess, meanwhile, hung out with Maddie and Peg at the church. However, she did want to talk to Ryan; it was their wedding day. As much as she wanted to sit on Ryan's lap and "tell Daddy what she wanted for Christmas," she figured that making Anna out to be mature would be best, and she was almost certain that once Anna returned to the body Tess was now inhabiting—and she WOULD—she would be more grateful; more mature. After all, she had a taste of it, and Tess could not see her going back to childish endeavors.

Or she held too much hope.

"Hey guys," Tess said. "I'm gonna go talk to Ryan. It's the wedding and I really should. Wish him luck."

"Honestly, Anna?" Maddie said in a low voice, "I think he's more thinking about being able to fuck your mom tonight than anything. You'll probably make him feel guilty."

"What? You guys make no sense!" Tess exclaimed. "Look, I'll just be a few and if he doesn't want to talk, well, I know where to find you, right, girls?"

"Yep," Peg said, pretending to study her nails.

"Be back soon," Tess promised them, rushing off.

A few seconds later, Peg looked over at Maddie. "You know what? I don't know about you, but that "girls" is starting to grow on me." Maddie nodded at her friend.

"Likewise." The last they saw of Anna's body was when she dodged a group of gossiping women and broke into a jog to escape the crowds.

Tess swiftly found the nearby groom room, running into Pei-Pei rushing to the ladies' room. She found Ryan alone, doing a laptop on a desk. When he saw her he quickly closed it and stood. "Hey, Anna." He smiled at her. "What's up?" Tess then realized she wasn't sure what she wanted to say to Ryan. Although she had told Anna what to say to Ryan many times, there were sentiments unsaid; pleasantries silenced; issues left unscathed. Tess, for some unfounded reason, just was not sure what those were.

"I just want to say." Tess said, forming her words carefully. "Good luck today." Ryan's gaze felt as though it was penetrating her, but he looked at her with a kindness, just the same. Maybe that was Anna's problem with him: She felt as if he was too intense. But that was just the color of his eyes. Once someone would get past that, they would see he was one of the most likeable men around. Tess wished she could tell him that she liked him a lot, right now. So she added instead: "I know you'll make my mother very happy. I'm glad you're going to be part of our family."

Ryan drew his body down so his elbows were at his knees. Tess almost melted at how handsome he looked in his tux. "Me, too. Anna, I'm excited to get to know you better and maybe be your friend. You know, someday. But, we have been getting along very well lately, and I'm glad about that." He looked down at the ground and then up, as he sometimes did before speaking. "Your mom makes me so happy. She's amazing woman and I can't be happier that we'll be married today. Just holding your mother in my arms. It's great. Tess is a very beautiful lady." He paused. "You'll hear it all in my vows."

Tess smiled. "Can't wait to hear those." Then she caught herself and slowly faded her smile. "So, you're going to an undisclosed location."

"It'll be a surprise for your mother."

"You can tell me!" Tess said, doubly wishing she knew." Ryan smiled at her and shook his head. "It'll be more fun for you if it's a surprise. You just have fun with your friends while we're gone. We know you'll make us proud."

Tess was touched that Ryan had so much faith in Anna, although she got the feeling it was reverse psychology, all the same. "Thank you," she said, not being able to help the smile. Again, she recomposed herself, knowing Anna would not be all smiles today, and resigned. "I won't ask about your honeymoon anymore."

"Well," Ryan said. "I got some stuff . . . to do . . . on my laptop." He pointed and Tess understood.

"Oh, okay. Sure. Again, good luck! And don't forget what I told you a few weeks ago about how to treat my mother."

Ryan nodded at her. "I'll remember." God, Tess just wanted to sit on his lap so badly and give him a kiss. But instead she was stuck with Jake. Who wasn't even coming until the reception, and although she was a teenager now, she still felt wrong kissing him. Ryan turned to his computer, and Tess walked out, suppressing sobs that came almost everyday. She had wanted to be with her late husband for years and now she couldn't be with Ryan. Tess pulled herself against the wall and let out a groan.

"UGHH! Am I destined to always be like this?" Tess clawed at her daughter's soft, auburn waves and crunched them in her fists. For once in her life, Tess wanted something to go right—go right consistently and not just for a couple of months or years. Try decades! Oh, but no comparing. This was way worse. Perhaps, Tess prayed, this was the pinnacle and it would all be uphill from here. Then retirement and . . .

she heard a footstep. Damn, she was not alone. She peeled herself from her wall meltdown and entered back into the array of excited wedding guests.

And as soon Tess entered the room, Maddie and Peg ambushed her.

30 minutes before she was to be walking down the aisle, Anna was bent over in her chair, her stomach betraying her, her emotions unmasked.

"Honey," Betsy, one of her mom's friends admonished her. "You want to marry him. You know you do. You've been wanting to for so long. When you are with him you will be so happy, just like you are now."

Anna nodded, not able to speak. Wishing to God she could tell these women what was really going on. The emotions she was feeling about marrying Ryan had exploded from her head and she wanted to shit them out.

Hence, her upset stomach.

"Here, honey, drink this." Janice had come back with some concoction that Anna was certain she'd have to pretend to appreciate. Oh, her jitters were much more than "is he the one." She'd had similar jitters before the first time Ryan had initiated sex. Not knowing when he was going to do so when he got her alone had her nervous, and she'd even melted 10 pounds off her mother's body.

Anna put the drink to her mother's lips and it flowed over what was now her mouth. Surprisingly, she did feel better halfway through the end. It was some sort of tea, or some sort of . . . gruel.

"Honey, you are going to have a great honeymoon."

"You guys know where we are going?" Before, Anna had dreaded knowing, but now she wanted to know what her impending doom held for her.

"Well," Pamela said, "We saw pictures, but other than that, we don't know. But he was so excited."

"And remember," Teresa said. "The hotel room is so much more important than wherever you are going!" The squeals of the ladies were a blur to Anna.

"I have to go to the bathroom, ladies, I'll be right back. Can't have a full bladder!" Anna entered the connected bathroom, which really was a beautiful example of architecture, and scent. But Anna locked the door, got in the bathtub, and sobbed quietly. She hated her life. She broke herself from the comfort of her arms to look up to the scalloped ceiling.

"God," she whispered. "If you are listening, please, reverse this spell. Don't make me have to marry him. Please, please." In case God wanted to work secretly, she closed her eyes and craned her head to the ceiling, Perhaps she had watched too many movies with her friends, but it seemed as if most magic worked when the head and neck were craned up. She felt a tremor roll through her. Her stomach seemed to calm.

She opened her eyes to a ceiling, her wedding dress visible from her peripheral vision. As if she could have one last dream. Anna stood up from the bathtub, almost tripping on the wedding dress, and flushed the toilet. She swallowed and took a few breaths. From her appearance in the mirror, she would have to pretend she was so excited she had started crying.

"Performance of a lifetime, Anna," she told herself. "Center yourself like never before." She breathed in and out and ran her hands down in front of her face. "Okay." She opened the door with a flourish.

"Ladies, I am getting married!" She almost screamed. And the party was in swing. It wasn't long before she would enter the hall to meet Ryan's gaze as he would wait for her. The kind gaze that she had secretly appreciated for her mother, which was now trained toward her, would be with her for over a week.

Anna felt lightheaded when her grandfather finally started escorting her to be married, his smiling face full of pride. If only her mother could see it. When she got married to Ryan again, she would. This wasn't real. This was just a ploy to go on in life.

Anna and Grandpa Alan entered the hall, Anna grateful she could hold onto her grandfather. Anna looked at her mother, sitting between her two former friends, her eyes glistening with sadness, telling her all the things she had been telling her over the past few months. This is for the best. I love you. We're doing this for each other. We have to move on with life.

She did look beautiful, Tess thought. Her makeup was done perfectly and the dress had been taken in to account for the weight Anna had shed off of her body for her. She looked even better than when she had first tried it on. Tess looked back at Ryan, who was looking at her with a twinkle, that look that made Tess want to melt into him when she had been in her own body. The way he looked at Anna . . . in her body . . . he loved her so, yet he wasn't really looking at her. So long as the illusion stayed with him.

Tess took the opportunity to look at how she and Ryan would look to others had they gotten married. They were a respectable couple. She loved how their features complimented each other. Anna's makeover on her look had even grown on Tess, and she noticed how she and Ryan both had semi-spiky hair. Little idiosyncrasies about Ryan made Tess smile. If only she could redirect herself to somehow make herself feel as if Ryan was staring at her. If she could see . . . .

_I don't wanna get married at 15! It's not even legal. I want my room back. I want my friends. I want whatever I want when I want._

Tess looked wistfully at her body, embodied by her daughter now. She hadn't known on that day that she wasn't 15 anymore . . . in a way, Tess thought, this wedding was a resignation. She wanted to cry, but knew she couldn't; Maddie and Peg would think she was nuts. So instead she stared and stared at "her" and Ryan until it was all she could see and she couldn't blink.

Meanwhile, Anna stepped next to Ryan, a single tear falling from the inner corner of her eye as the situation's reality closed in on her, Maddie and Peg behind her; may as well be thousands of feet away. Her whole world behind her. Ryan's presence radiated around her. She was not even listening to the priest. But she heard something about vows. Ryan was going to tell her the vows. Written them himself. Her poor mother.

"Honey, when we first met, the first thing I thought was, _she is a spitfire_. And when I got to know you, I realized I wasn't mistaken." Laughter that should have been happy seemed to filter through a hollow tube to Anna. Oh God, she hoped she wouldn't faint. She managed to keep a straight stance by looking at Ryan's nose instead of his eyes.

And then, somehow, between sinking in sorrow and contemplating the exit door behind Ryan, his words stopped burning her and she realized how much he loved her mother. And she was happy she got to see it first hand. His words were poignant and he spoke without boundaries. With endless love for her mother.

Anna, though, wasn't prepared for the clichéd "You may kiss the bride." Once again emptiness crowded her senses and she waved to the crowd with a completely forced smile, Ryan's impassionate first kiss as Tess Coleman's husband burned on her lips, its taste trouncing her tongue.

Meanwhile, Tess had lost it, as well, and while her friends were standing up and cheering, along with the rest, she bounded out of the room, and proceeded to have a long overdue panic attack, which then gave way to crying. More tears. More realizations. He wasn't with her. This was supposed to be her day.

No. Tess was not someone that would just go and cry, no matter what. Not anymore. She would get in there and hide her sadness.

Although, a few more minutes of solitude wouldn't hurt. But by the time she was almost ready to go back in, the doors were opening to a cacophony of boundless noise and optimism. Anna caught her mother slouched at the end of a corridor, and looked at her only for a second before Ryan escorted her outside to where they would go into a Just Married! limo for the reception, slash party.

Tess stood up. She had a bone to pick with Pei Pei's mother.

Anna couldn't help but smile at all of the happy people. Her eyes fell upon her two best friends and she couldn't help but let her smile fade a little but kept on waving. Ryan's fingers of his left hand drummed on her stomach. Bits of white rice rested in their hair from the outside revelers. Anna, despite her situation, was very happy that so many people supported her mother and her marriage to Ryan. She saw her mom, looking on, her arms crossed. In a way, Anna was taking this from her. Anna then mentally pinched herself. _Don't blame yourself. Don't fucking blame yourself_.

The limo door opened. Anna broke away from Ryan's arm to hug her mom's friends, their excitement somewhat contagious. But then they started telling her to get in the limo with her man. And she found herself being prodded by many hands and finally pushed to Ryan, who helped her in the vehicle. From an open window, he waved and smiled to the crowd and then vocalized an order to the driver.

Anna felt her stomach lurch as the vehicle left and the window and passenger/driver privacy shield went up. And Ryan was all over her. Anna found she couldn't breathe as his mouth heated hers, his hands fondled her breasts. It wasn't just a mind to body switch. Anna felt her mother's pains. Her mother's five senses. Her brain connected to the body. It was hers.

And the unwanted hands touching her all over made her want to curl into a trembling ball.

"Tess," Ryan breathed in her ear. "I want you to feel me love you. Do you know how happy I am right now that we can be together? How happy I am to have you next to me? We're perfect together, honey. Perfect."

If Ryan couldn't see the smile she was forcing now, he was blind. "Lean against me, honey," he said in his soft voice. "Enjoy the ride. By the way, you look just beautiful. And so sexy." By this time, Anna had collected herself and she drew up to give her naïve husband, or, as the world knew, the husband of her mother, a kiss. He really was sweet. All she had to do was step inside the shoes of her mother, who would love how lovely Ryan was being right now. What disturbed her was that Ryan was talking right to her . . . it was sometimes hard to put a wedge between the body that was her mother and the personality that was herself.

Ryan nuzzled her cheek, moving toward the center of her face.

Tess moved quickly through the crowd, feeling an anger like she'd never felt before. A different anger. A more defining anger.

Within her line of sight was Pei-Pei, and fifty feet away from her was her mother.

Pei-Pei's mother was busily setting up Chinese food that she'd tirelessly been preparing for over 5 days. Tess stood next to her, staring at her. Apparently, the mother didn't see her.

"Hi," Tess said, her voice ringing clear, perhaps, she thought, even sincere.

The woman turned and gave a small smile. Tess promptly slapped her across the face. Her entire mouth trembled from the physical exertion.

"You bitch," Was all she could manage to say. "What you stole from me. . ." The look on the woman's face finally made Tess stop and purse her lips. "You know, you're not worth it. But let me tell you: You damn well deserve it, anyway." She paused, hissing her next line. "Next time, don't _fuck_ with peoples' lives."

Walking away, Pei-Pei was walking fast beside her.

"That took a lot of restraint, I know," she said, her voice almost cheerful.

"Not in the mood, Pei-Pei." Pei-Pei seemed to understand this and her voice turned serious.

"Look, I understand why you do this to my mother. But look, she sorry. She no mean to cause such trouble."

"Oh, here's the thing," Tess said, "She did. There is no Tess marrying Ryan for the first time that I can participate in. No, that's gone. Stole. I had to watch my husband marry me and I couldn't particpate. You're not married. You don't know how that feels!"

"I can . . . imagine?" Tess scowled at the woman's optimistic cheerfulness. And almost stomped away.

"Go fuck yourself," she muttered, marching away and leaving Pei-Pei and her mother behind her. Hopefully to feel guilty. Or maybe to cower and hide for fear she had brought a gun to shoot them.

Or at least put a well-deserving bullet in Pei-Pei's meddling mother. Tess got far enough into the party to see Ryan coddling her body. Oh, how she wanted to feel him.

"Hey gorgeous." Jake. Well, this greasy teenager would have to do for now.

"Hey, you." Tess gave Jake a kiss. "You look handsome."

"Do I." He took her hand. "Let's grab some grub. They are still setting up a bit but we got some good stuff now."

Tess agreed. Maybe some dredging fat would slow her roll. She was hungry; she didn't really have any choice in the matter but to eat the Chinese that Anna had so mindlessly forced them to have.

"You know," Jake said. "I have a friend whose family owns a Chinese place. They make excellent money. He goes to St. Jonathan Prep."

Tess got the feeling he was making conversation with her so she'd give him a welcome blow job. Well, anything to get the taste of Chinese out of her mouth. "St. Jonathan?" She remarked. "I heard it was an all-white school. Like, no minorities went here, I mean."

"No, they have a few," Jake replied, and Tess could see that he was looking at her strangely.

"For some reason," Tess went on, "it's weird to me."

"Anna, come on. You're doing it again."

"Wh—okay. Look, I'm sorry. It's my mom's wedding. Give me a break." Jake didn't say anything else and they plopped the rest of the food onto their plates in silence.

"I know," Tess said. "That I need to work on what I say and what I think. A lot. But I promise, Jake, someday, I will get better!" The duo made their way to a covered picnic table. Classical pop music lightly played from large speakers and Tess looked back at Anna and Ryan, his arms protectively around her waist. Constantly Tess had an urge to tell Anna to consider herself lucky, but then remembered how Anna felt. Anna wasn't an older woman. She had not grown up yet and she was forced to continue the relationship that a woman older than her held with a man over twice Anna's age.

Talk about lack of selflessness. But Tess didn't blame herself; sight was a powerful sense. She saw herself first and then she saw Anna.

"Your parents look happy," Jake blabbered on. Tess almost wanted him to just skip the pretense and take her to an outhouse so she could suck him off. Two words: Teenage boy.

"Yeah," Tess replied, twirling noodles onto her fork. "I don't consider Ryan to be my dad."

"Not yet, anyway," Jake said, oblivious to "Anna's" implications about her situation. "Remember Pete? He loves his stepdad, and he doesn't even think of him in that way. More like a parent. He's come into your life early, Anna." Jake swallowed a sauce-coated vegetable with a flourish, his eyes not leaving hers. "I think that's a good thing." Tess chuckled, like Anna probably would have done.

"I guess," she replied, giving him a small smile and eye contact.


End file.
